IPhone
Note: This article is presently under construction. More information will be added. The iPhone is a somewhat over-hyped combination cell phone and psuedo-PDA based on a limited version of MacOS X from Apple Computer combined with cell service by AT&T Wireless in the US. This combination has been dubbed a SmartPhone. Orange and other carriers have been adopted for other locales. This cell phone has some very innovative software features but, at the same time, compromised other physical features in order to give the iPhone its sleek look. Features The iPhone features a multi-touch touch screen that allows you to pinch the screen with two fingers to zoom in (or for other purposes). The touch screen is simultaneously both a blessing and a curse with the iPhone. The touch aspect works quite well, but due to the size of the virtual buttons as well as the on-screen keyboard, it can be quite difficult for input accuracy. Thus, mistakes are commonplace when trying to type on the on-screen keyboard. A November 2007 User Centric study showed that iPhone users suffered 5.6 errors per message using the touch screen when compared to Blackberry's best rate of 2.1 and worst rate of 2.4 errors per message using a tactile keyboard. Other features include limited exterior buttons forcing control of most of the functionality of the iPhone through the touch interface. The iPhone also includes Edge and WiFi, but restricts access to iTunes through Wifi only. The iPhone screen is 2" by 3" (3.5-inch diagonal widescreen ) with in physical size 480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 ppi. The iPhone senses orientation and auto-rotates the screen based on orientation. Limitations Apple released this first version (sometimes dubbed 1.0) of the phone with specific limitations in place. Whether or not these design issues were intentional is unknown. Both the battery and the sim card are not user replaceable. If the battery dies, you must send your iPhone back to Apple (or take it to an Apple store) for battery replacement. There is a replacement program directly from Apple. The cost for battery replacement is $79 plus $6.95 for shipping. The phone is locked to AT&T's network due to a 2 year contract between Apple and AT&T. Apple has done much to prevent unlocking of the iPhone including causing some phones to be bricked with firmware upgrades as a result of being unlocked by applications such as JailBreak. An unlocked version of the iPhone was released in France due to requirements by France, but this version of the iPhone is restricted to working with sim cards issued in France. The iPhone 1.0 does not presently work with Microsoft's Exchange mail server effectively precluding it from being widely adopted by corporations as a corporate cell phone solution. This leaves the Blackberry (among other smartphones) firmly seated in this corporate phone role. iPhone plan details The iPhone plans, at least in the US, are covered by AT&T Wireless. Apple worked a deal with AT&T to provide a specific cell phone plan with unlimited Internet service for a monthly fee is $69 per month. Note that when you place the iPhone in the cart on AT&T's or Apple's web site, the per month charge is not readily disclosed in the cart. You are likely required to pick your plan at activation. In order to purchase an iPhone requires a 2 year contract commitment with AT&T. Non-US locales may have different requirements. References External Links * Apple * Apple iPhone I I